(Not Applicable)
(Not Applicable)
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method securing sports equipment to a field playing surface. More particularly, the invention comprises an improved apparatus and method for removably securing a baseball base to the infield of a baseball field.
Baseball is a popular sport in the United States and internationally. The sport is played at many levels beginning from children""s amateur baseball through college and professional baseball. In the more organized baseball leagues, bases are secured to the baseball field to prevent movement during the game. A variety of devices have been adapted to allow bases to be secured and then later removed.
The necessity to provide bases that are removably attachable to the playing field arises for a number of reasons. It is desirable to remove the base from the field to avoid prolonged exposure to the environment which would have a deleterious effect on the base. Further, many fields are multipurpose sports fields and it is important to be able to remove the bases to allow other sports to be played without the base secured to the field. Also, during maintenance of the field""s surface, it is desirable to remove the bases.
In order to be removably attachable to the playing surface, conventional bases include base anchors affixed to the bottom surface of the base to secure the base to the ground. A number of known base anchors are used to secure bases. Most typically, bases include a male square metal shaft protruding downwardly from the bottom of the center of the base. A square hollow female shaft embedded vertically in the ground receives male shaft via an opening slightly larger than the male shaft. The bottom of the hollow female shaft is installed approximately one to one and a half feet below field grade and is usually set in cement and placed at first, second and third base locations of a playing field. It is estimated that currently, the above described base and anchor is used in approximately 90% of fields used by organized baseball leagues.
The above described female shaft anchors are set in the ground at designed base locations depending on the level of play. For example, fields may have a distance of 54 feet for little league play, 60 feet for girls softball, 65 feet for mens softball,70 and 80 feet of Pony level baseball and 90 feet for highschool and major league baseball. The anchors are permanently installed in the ground to accommodate the base for what ever level of game is played. A playing field may have 5 or 6 different anchor locations at one time but only one set of bases is set at a time.
After use, the base is removed from the female shaft and a rubber plug is installed in the opening of the female shaft in order to prevent debris from falling into the hollow void thereof. The base is stored for use in the next game. The rubber plugs vary in size from 2 inches in diameter to 6 in diameter, and approximately one inch in height. Square plugs are also utilized. With the rubber plugs in place, the dirt area of the playing field is raked and machine dragged in order to keep the field flat and ready for the next teams use. While the field is being raked and dragged the buried female base anchors are covered with dirt and left covered until the next games are played. In many instances, the fields are raked and dragged by the players or coaches who may easily lose the rubber plugs or they may easily forget to install the plugs and the anchors fill with dirt and rocks. In some cases rakes or dragging equipment will snag the plugs removing them, and causing the void to fill with unwanted material.
The filling of the void of the buried female shaft with unwanted material is so prevalent that manufacturers of baseball bases and accompanying anchors sell a small spoon to be used in conjunction with the equipment in order to remove the dirt and debris. Removing of the debris with the spoon device is difficult and time consuming. Each time the field is used, someone must first locate the desired anchor by measuring from a permanently installed home base to the general area of the anchor. The anchor is located by random prodding in the dirt in the general location. Once the plug is removed, the base shaft is placed into the anchor and pushed down to ground level and it is ready for use, sometimes with great difficulty. Frequently debris gets into the shaft of the anchor when removing the plug in which case the small spoon is used to remove the soil. In many cases, if the dirt and rocks are not removed completely, the installers must use great force to push the bases down to ground level. Dirt and rocks may wedge between the anchor shaft and the base shaft and can not be pulled apart. When this happens, the ground anchor must be unburied, removed from the field and new anchor installed. The removed anchor is then discarded, most times along with the frozen base.
Because the amateur leagues do not have the benefit of professional grounds keepers, the securing and later removal of the bases to the field surface must be completed by league officials, coaches, umpires or the players themselves. Thus, there is a great need to provide a baseball base securing device which prevents unwanted dirt and debris from entering the open vertical shaft thus, reducing the time and effort associated with base installation. In addition, there is a great need to provide a base securing device which eases the identification of a buried base shaft.
The present invention relates to a baseball base securing device which is engageable with a baseball base. The present invention is utilized with a standard baseball base having a downwardly extending anchor which is received by a hollow buried receiving tube member of the present invention. The receiving tube has an aperture which is sized and configured to receive the anchor. When not in use, a cover closes off the receiving tube. The cover is supported by a spring member located within the body of the receiving tube. The cover is traversable between a flush position and a retracted position. The cover is biased such that the flush position is normal. The cover is biased with a compression spring.
The spring defines a biasing force at the flushed position and the retracted position. Generally, the spring force at the flush position is sufficient to push dirt out from the aperture, and the spring force at the retracted position is less than a total weight of the base. A collapsible cord is attached to the cover to regulate the cover to the flushed position.
The cover has a cross-sectional dimensions virtually identical to that of the base""s downwardly extending member which is received by the aperture of the receiving tube. As such, the aperture is configured as a square hole. Specifically, the size of the cover is slightly smaller than the size of the aperture of the receiver such that the cover may be inserted into the receiver and traversable between a flush position and the retracted position. In this regard, when the anchor of the base is removed from the receiver, the cover pushes debris and dirt out of the receiver as the anchor is being removed from the housing.
A flexible seal circumvents the cover. In particular, the seal continuously contacts the outside perimeter of the cover and the inside perimeter of the aperture and inside surface of the receiving tube. The seal is fabricated from a material that is resilient and weather resistant. Additionally, the seal should be permeable to air but not dirt and other debris. In this regard, the seal further displaces dirt out from the receiver as the anchor is being removed from the housing. By way of example and not limitation, the seal may be fabricated from foam, rubber, closed cell rubber or open cell rubber.
A visual indicator is attached to the receiving tube. The locator is attached to the receiver such that it is visible above the dirt when the anchor is removed from the housing. The visual indicator has long bristles that are resilient such that it may deform when the bases is inserted into the housing and resiliently push above the surface of the ground when the base is removed therefrom. Typically the locator is oriented and attached to the housing such that the locator is normal to the ground.